- Help you articulate clearly what you need and assess if what
you are looking for is realistic.
- Create a position profile and related outreach strategy
that is a good fit for where the organization is in its "life
cycle" that
is consistent with your organization's mission.
- Advertise with our candidate list for potential candidates
that fit your criteria.
- Acknowledge all applicants in a professional and politically-wise
manner.
- Assess the quality and relevance of each candidate's previous
employment and experience.
- Filter the applicants and present the top possibilities to
the transition team for review.
- Conduct preliminary in-depth interview with most promising
candidates.
- Select top tier of finalists for search committee interview.
- Facilitate in-depth interview process.
- Assess strengths and weaknesses of candidates who are being
seriously considered.
- Notify other finalists when the position has been filled.
- Offer recommendations for a smooth and successful "ease into
the position" process for the incoming executive.
- Make recommendations on an interim executive director.
Nonprofit organizational succession planning consultation facilitated
by leading Transitions will usually include one or more of the
following three primary phases:
Phase I – Assessment and Culture
Creation, Phase II – Executive Level Emergency
Succession Planning, and Phase III – Ongoing Succession Planning / Leadership
Development. In order for me to make some concrete and sustainable
recommendations, we offer the following steps within each of the
three phases:
Phase I – Assessment and Culture Creation
In this first phase of our consultation we will establish a baseline for
succession planning practices that are already in place at your organization.
From there, we will work with you and your staff on the importance of everyone
in the organization talking about changes in leadership, even when these
changes are not imminent. We will be working with you to determine what
practices are already in place that fall under the succession planning umbrella.
Oftentimes, we conduct structured interviews with various key constituents.
We will work with you on how you may bring succession planning issues into
the conversations with your Board of Directors.
If you wish, we enjoy talking with your Board President and / or members
of your governance committee of the Board of Directors about their own (volunteer)
succession planning responsibilities and opportunities. The intention is
for volunteers and paid staff to see how this work is about securing your
organization's mission into the future.
Phase II – Executive Level Emergency Succession Planning
Emergency succession planning is a best practice for every organization,
since it strives to ensure ongoing programming and operations in the event
of an unplanned and extended executive absence. When emergency circumstances
occur, there is an enormous level of stress experienced by an organization's
staff, board, funders, volunteers and, ultimately, by service recipients.
Our preference is to work with a team of staff that you select to identify
key leadership functions carried out by the executive director, identify
senior organizational leaders best qualified to assume the role of executive
director in an emergency situation, and recommend the cross-training necessary
so the team can fulfill the leadership functions until an (interim) executive
director is appointed.
In addition to being better prepared, a major and immediate benefit of
this work is staff can enhance leadership skills and perhaps improve their
knowledge of each other's roles and responsibilities. They will also
gain confidence in their own ability to assume executive functions once
cross-training begins.
We will outline policies and procedures for the temporary appointment
of an acting executive director.
Phase III – Ongoing Succession Planning / Leadership
Development
Working with your organizational leaders to create succession planning
practices that can be sustainable into the future.
Together, we will look at the up-and-coming pipeline of leadership within
your organization to determine if these young and/or newer professionals
are receiving what they need to be successful in their work.
When applicable, we can work with your fund development staff on the essential
task of including all of your past, current and future succession planning
efforts into proposal procurement and composition.
This phase is the time to address what needs to be done to implement
new ideas and ensure that there are mechanisms in place to facilitate these
ideas being maintained on into the future.
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